Dial telephone finger wheel



1935- J. A. PETNEL ,694

DIAL TELEPHo 'E FINGER WHEEL Fild Dec. 14, 1952 Patented-"Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED 's ;TArr.s

nun. ram-moms FINGER mm.

Joseph A. l'etnel, Troy, is. Y. Apniieaam nmmber' 14, 1532, Serial peerless cm. (c1. 179'90) This invention relates to dial telephone finger wheels, and has, among'its objects, the provisionof a finger wheel permitting ready cleaning and greater visibility of, the telephone dial. The

standard finger wheel for dial telephones is so constructed in itself and so related to the dial under it that the dial may be cleaned only with" difilculty. It is known totusei's of dial telephones that the dial needs rather frequent cleaning due to the fact that it gathers dust and is also marked by pencils and by the fingers. The construction which I have provided eallows ,q'uick cleaning of the dial. Furthermor'eymy invention permits -a better view-of the telephone dial or numeral- Dlate. a

The invention willbe fully and comprehensivelyunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed description when read in connection'with the accompanying drawing which f forms part of the application, with the understanding, however, that the improvement is capae -ble of extended application and is not confined to the exact showing of the drawing nor -to the .precise -construction described and, therefore,

such changes and modifications may be made therein as do not affect the spirit of the invention nor exceed the scope thereof'as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is aside elevation of the dial and its mounting and also the finger wheel and the.

stop for the same.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the. apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and clearly shows one form in which the finger wheel of my invention may be constructed; and

- Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of finger wheels showing modified forms of my invention.

Referring to the drawing for amore detailed descriptionthereof, and at first to Figs. .1 and 2, thedial 5 has the standard or any preferred indicia thereon, saidr indicia comprising numerals and letters, in group's. A fingerwheel stop 6 vis mounted on the side of thedial frame 8 and I extends over and above the marginal portion of the finger wheel 9. Said wheel is-shown as having thestandard series of openingsadjacent its pe'riphery. As distinguished from the stand- .ard finger wheel, the wheel of my invention is shown in Fig.2 as having an opening adjacent the stop- 6 and between the digits 0 and "1" 1 V of the dial, said opening extending from the perriphery ofthewheciand being larger than the finger aperturesused'tbr p r tion of the wheel.

It willbe appreciated that suchconstruetion of the finger wheel allows the dial to be readily cleaned and that it aijfords abetter view of the dial while finger wheel is in motion.

Referring now to Fig. 3, an opening it is provided in the finger wheel I in a positionsimi- ,5

lar to..that described for Fig. 2. The'opening In however does not extend to the periphery of the wheel, but being-larger than the usual finger openings, afi'ords sufficient space for conveniently cleaning the dial' and clearer visibility.

' Referring now to Fig. 4, the opening I 2 may ;-be described as the equivalent of the opening adjusted making it at least very difllcultfor the subscriber to call a'desired number. To overcome'this difficulty, I have shown in Fig. 2, the finger 'wheel as having digits marked thereon corresponding-tmthe digits on the 'dial and'in 215 similar positions. I have also shown, in Fig. 2 and in Fig. 1 as well, a depending flange or apron to as part of the finger wheel, this for the purpose of prevent- ;ing dirt from entering the working'mechanismaq below-thewheei. a

According to my invention, the finger wheel of a dial telephone has a reflecting surface in order to reflect light back onto the dial and therefore the better illuminate the latter. The reflecting 35 surface may be obtained by plating the lower surfaceof the wheel or iniany other suitable manner. '4 V The wheel of my inven on as shown in the drawing has less weight tha the standard finger 40 wheel now in use, and therefore is' more easily returned by the spring, with the consequence that there is less wear on the spring.

It is well known that some subscribers desire at times to'lock the finger wheel, and while the standard finger wheel now in use may be locked by means of an ordinary padlock, it is necessary -to turn the finger wheel from its resting position in order to insert the hail of the lock through .an aperture and around the finger stop. Using [the finger wheel of my invention, as shown in,

3, a look I! having a bail It may be employed to lock the wheel to the finger, stop by passing the bail through the aperture. I0 and the adjacent circular-aperture andaround the finger StOPythll lg;

without displacing the wheel from its resting position.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a number dial of a subscribers telephone, which dial has a series of numbers arranged in a circular row throughout an arc of approximately 270 and spaced apart, a finger wheel rotatably mounted over said dial and having a series of finger openings, one for each dial number, through which openings the dial numbers are continuously visible, saidfinger wheel having an elongated recess in-its periphery extending from adjacent the last finger opening to adjacent the first finger opening and of a depth to expose the number carrying surface part of said dial as the wheel is rotated for-the purpose of providing means to facilitate the cleaning of the number carrying portion of the dial, said recess being at all times exposed.

2. The combination with a number dial of a subscriber's telephone, which dial has a series of numbers arranged in a circular row throughout an arc of approximately 270 and spaced apart, a finger wheel rotatably mounted over said dial and having a series of finger openings, one for each dial number, through which openings the dial numbers are continuously visible, said finger wheel having an elongated recess in its periphery extending from adjacent the last finger opening to adjacent the first finger opening and of a depth to expose the number carrying surface part of said dial as the wheel is rotated for the purpose of providing means to facilitate the cleaning of the number carrying portion of the dial, and to cooperate with the last finger opening to receive therewith the loop of a padlock to embrace the finger stop of the telephone for locking the'wheel in its stopped or normal position.

3. The combination with a number dial of a. a'subscribers telephone, which dial has a series of aoiaoos of said dial as the wheel is rotated for the purpose of providing means to facilitate the cleaning of the number carrying portion oi the dial, said rec'ess being at all times exposed, the underside of said wheel being of light reflecting material and 5 the exposed faced the wheel having thereon number digits formed on the wheel, one for each hole and corresponding to the dial numbers.

4. Thec'ombination with a number dial of a subscriber's telephone, which dial has a series of 10 numbers arranged in a circular row throughout an arc of approximately 270 and spaced apart,

a finger wheel rotatably mounted over said dial and having a-series of finger openings, one for each dial number, through which openings ,the 15 dial numbers are continuously visible, said finger wheel having an elongated recess in its periphery extending fromadjacent-the last finger opening to adjacent the first finger opening and of a depth to expose the number carrying surface part of 20.

said dial as the wheel is rotated for the purpose of providing means to facilitate the cleaning of the number carrying portion of the dial, and to cooperate with the last finger opening to receive therewith the loop of a padlock to embrace the 25 finger stop of the telephone for locking the wheel in its stopped or normal position, the underside of said wheel being of light reflecting material and the exposed face of the wheel having thereon number digits formed on the wheel, one for each hole and corresponding to the dial numbers.

I 5. The combination with a number. dial of a subscriber's telephone, which dial has a series of numbers arranged in a circular row, throughout an arc of approximately 270- and spaced apart, a finger wheel rotatably mounted over said dial and having a-series of finger openings, one for each dial number, throughwhich openings the dial numbers are continuously visible, said finger wheel having an elongated recess in its periphery extending from adjacent the last finger opening to adjacent the first finger opening and of a depth ,to expose the numbercarrying surface part of said dial as the wheel is rotated for the purpose of providing means to facilitate the cleaning of the number carrying portion of the dial, said recess being at all times exposed, the under side of said wheel being of light reflecting material.

JOSEPH A. PETNELV 

